Search

A current re-engineering of the United States routine ambient monitoring networks intended to improve the balance in addressing both regulatory and scientific objectives is addressed in this paper. Key attributes of these network modifications include the addition of collocated instruments to produce multiple pollutant characterizations across a range of representative urban and rural locations in a new network referred to as the National Core Monitoring Network (NCore). The NCore parameters include carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), reactive nitrogen (NOy), ozone (O3), and ammonia (NH3) gases and the major fine particulate matter (PM2.5) aerosol components (ions, elemental and organic carbon fractions, and trace metals). The addition of trace gas instruments, deployed at existing chemical speciation sites and designed to capture concentrations well below levels of national air quality standards, is intended to support both long-term epidemiological studies and regional-scale air quality model evaluation. In addition to designing the multiple pollutant NCore network, steps were taken to assess the current networks on the basis of spatial coverage and redundancy criteria, and mechanisms were developed to facilitate incorporation of continuously operating particulate matter instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition of PM[sub 2.5] was investigated at four sites (Rubidoux, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Philadelphia, PA, and Research Triangle Park, NC) in January and February of 1999. Three samplers were used to determine both the overall mass and the chemical composition of the aerosol. Teflon filters were weighed for total mass. Ions were analyzed using ion chromatography. Elements were determined using X-ray fluorescence. Organic and elemental carbon were measured using a thermo-optical method. At all of the sites, reconstructed mass was observed to be greater than or equal to the measured mass. Good ionic balance was found for ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate at each of the sites. Overall, the chemical composition of the aerosol for each site was in good agreement with the expected composition based upon previous studies, with the exception of relatively high nitrate contribution to the total mass at Philadelphia. Good agreement was found between the predicted amount of sulfate by XRF analysis of sulfur and the sulfate measured by ion chromatography. As expected, sulfate was a more important contributor to the total mass at the East Coast sites. Nitrate contributed more to the total mass at the West Coast sites and was an important factor in the highest observed mass concentration at Rubidoux. Teflon filters appear to lose nitrate to a greater extent than heat-treated quartz fiber filters. Organic carbon was also found to be the largest part of the aerosol mass on minimum days for all sites and a significant portion of the mass on other days with 25-50% of the total mass at all of the sites. At three of the sites, organic carbon (OC) collected on denuded filters was less than that found on nondenuded samples, indicating an absorptive artifact on the quartz fiber filters. It was also found that the crustal component to PM[sub 2.5] was highest at Phoenix. PM[sub 2.5] was also found to contribute significantly to the PM[sub 10] particle mass at all the sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the American Association for Aerosol Research conference entitled "Particulate Matter: Atmospheric Sciences, Exposure, and the Fourth Colloquium on PM and Human Health" in April 2003. Goal of the conference; Discussion on aerosol measurement methods and characteristics of urban aerosols; Associations cosponsoring the event.

Abstract: Central Asia is a relatively understudied region of the world in terms of characterizing ambient particulate matter (PM) and quantifying source impacts of PM at receptor locations, although it is speculated to have an important role as a source region for long-range transport of PM to Eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Western United States. PM is of significant interest not only because of its adverse effect on public health but also due to its more recently realized role in climate change. To investigate the sources and characteristics of PM in the region, a series of PM2.5 and PM10 samples were collected on an every-other-day basis at two sites (termed “Bishkek” and “Teploklyuchenka”) in the Central Asian nation of the Kyrgyz Republic (also known as Kyrgyzstan) for a full year from July 2008 to July 2009. These samples were analyzed using standard methods for mass, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-insoluble organic carbon by difference (OC minus WSOC) and a variety of molecular marker chemical species to be used in a chemical mass balance (CMB) model to apportion the sources of OC. These analyses indicate that approximately 19 ± 6.4% of the PM2.5 mass at both sites throughout the year consists of OC. The carbonaceous component of PM2.5 is dominated by OC, with OC/Total Carbon (TC) ratios being around 0.8 in the winter to almost 0.95 in the summer months. The CMB analysis indicated that mobile sources, i.e., gasoline and diesel engine exhaust, biomass combustion, and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from isoprene and α-pinene precursors in the summer months were the dominant sources of OC. A strong positive correlation was observed between non-biomass burning WSOC and the un-apportioned OC from the CMB analysis, indicating that some of this un-apportioned OC is WSOC and likely the result of SOA-forming atmospheric processes that were not estimated by the CMB analysis performed. In addition, a comparison of the predominant contributors to OC between the two sites indicates that biomass combustion is a stronger relative source of OC at the Teploklyuchenka site, particularly in the winter, while contributions of isoprene- and α-pinene-derived SOA to the measured OC was relatively similar between the sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we describe the development and laboratory and field evaluation of a continuous coarse (2.5-10 µm) particle mass (PM) monitor that can provide reliable measurements of the coarse mass (CM) concentrations in time intervals as short as 5-10 min. The operating principle of the monitor is based on enriching CM concentrations by a factor of ∼25 by means of a 2.5-µm cut point round nozzle virtual impactor while maintaining fine mass (FM)--that is, the mass of PM[sub2.5] at ambient concentrations. The aerosol mixture is subsequently drawn through a standard tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM), the response of which is dominated by the contributions of the CM, due to concentration enrichment. Findings from the field study ascertain that a TEOM coupled with a PM[sub10] inlet followed by a 2.5-µm cut point round nozzle virtual impactor can be used successfully for continuous CM concentration measurements. The average concentrationenriched CM concentrations measured by the TEOM were 26-27 times higher than those measured by the time-integrated PM[sub10] samplers [the micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) and the Partisol] and were highly correlated. CM concentrations measured by the concentration-enriched TEOM were independent of the ambient FM-to-CM concentration ratio, due to the decrease in ambient coarse particle mass median diameter with an increasing FM-to-CM concentration ratio. Finally, our results illustrate one of the main problems associated with the use of real impactors to sample particles at relative humidity (RH) values less than 40%. While PM[sub10] concentrations obtained by means of the MOUDI and Partisol were in excellent agreement, CM concentrations measured by the MOUDI were low by 20%, and FM concentrations were high by a factor of 5, together suggesting particle bounce at low RH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne fine particle mass concentrations in Southern California have declined in recent years. Trends in sulfate and elemental carbon (EC) particle concentrations over the period 1982-1993 are consistent with this overall improvement in air quality and help to confirm some of the reasons for the changes that are seen. Fine particle sulfate concentrations have declined as a strict sulfur oxides (SO[subx]) emission control program adopted in 1978 was implemented over time. Fine particle elemental (black) carbon concentrations have declined over a period when newer diesel engines and improved diesel fuels have been introduced into the vehicle fleet. Organic aerosol concentrations have not declined as rapidly as the EC particle concentrations, despite the fact that catalyst-equipped cars having lower particle emission rates were introduced into the vehicle fleet alongside the diesel engine improvements mentioned above. This situation is consistent with the growth in population and vehicle miles traveled in the air basin over time. Fine particle ammonium nitrate in the Los Angeles area atmosphere contributes more than half of the fine aerosol mass concentration on the highest concentration days of the year, emphasizing both the need for accurate aerosol nitrate measurements and the likely importance of deliberate control of aerosol nitrate as a part of any serious further fine particle control program for the Los Angeles area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]